Senior Officer, Planning and Accountability

Background

The International Federation secretariat coordinates and supports the collective efforts of the International Federation membership to better address the increasing number of humanitarian challenges in the world.  A key component of this is effective planning and reporting, that informs partners and the wider world of the scope and impact of the RC/RC Movement’s work, and promotes learning and advocacy in the interests of vulnerable communities and the NS that support them.

Duties applicable to all staff

1.       Actively work towards the achievement of the Secretariat’s goals.

2.       Abide by and work in accordance with the Red Cross/Red Crescent principles.

3.       Perform any other work related duties and responsibilities that may be assigned by the line manager.

Purpose:

To support National Societies in the East Africa region and the regional representation in ensuring that the elements of programme quality are considered, prioritized and resourced in programme set up, development and learning processes and systems in terms of appeals and reports by:   

·         Supporting national societies and regional programme staff in programme planning to ensure that elements needed for accurate reporting are well in place with particular focus on monitoring of progress and reporting on impact. 

·         Finalizing narrative appeals and compiling narrative reports as a major contribution to the mobilization of funds for the Federation programmes. 

·         To support and faciliate greater emphasis on outcomes, impact and learning in programme reports thereby increasing the relevance of reports to donors and the wider humanitarian community.

·         Promote and ensure donor compliance in reporting

Specific duties and responsibilities

Working with the line manager to:

·         Support programme management in developing and reviewing country and regional strategies, thematic plans and annual operational plan development.

·         Support programme management with analysis of the key challenges in quality programming and consistency with established standards. A key focus of the role is ensuring that critical cross-cutting issues (alignment with Millennium Development Goals and Hyogo Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction; quality, accountability and learned, partnerships and civil society engagement; Red Cross/Red Crescent collaboration; promoting gender equity and diversity; risk identification and management)

·         Facilitate inter-sectoral planning and integration of common strategies into programme planning processes, and harmonization of various internal planning processes.

·         Compile accurate, regular, timely and consistent narrative appeals and reports in standard formats for the Federation and for donors; compile other reports and information materials as required both within and outside the Red Cross Movement.

·         Support the documentation processes for the best practices and lessons learnt based on programme approaches pertinent to the implementation of relief and development interventions.

·         Work with national societies and provide technical support in setting up and operationalizing appropriate internal and external planning and reporting systems.

·         Ensure that delegates and staff submit regular, timely and accurate narrative reports, including coordinating and providing appropriate training and capacity building of all staff and delegates to fulfil their responsibility for reporting, and to ensure high quality products.

·         Actively contribute during project planning meetings with all programmes (regional, bilateral) to ensure that reporting on activities will be impact-based and result-oriented, and reflect detailed log frames and budgets of each programme.

·         Provide coordinated planning and reporting-related training for National Society staff and Federation regional staff, and through them when required, for the various networks and working groups they support (RC-NET, etc.)

·         As a member of the Regional Disaster Response Task Force, ensure proper planning and input of all reporting aspects during the preparation of Emergency Appeals in close consultation with the Disaster Management department (number and timing of operations updates, inclusion of reporting support in the appeal budget etc).

·         Contribute to strengthening the Zones’s internal system of accessing appeals and reports from the region in a regional electronic data base in liaison with the IT department and the Regional Reporting Unit.

·         Coordinate all planning and reporting issues with the Zone Reporting Unit and the Regional Finance Unit for better harmonization of the system in the field.

·         Improve the use of statistics, maps, photos, etc. in reports and develop a specific filing/database system for easy retrieving of materials by interested parties.

Required Qualifications

Education:

·         University degree in social sciences or related field

·         Further training in communications/journalism or related area.

Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years relevant experience in written communication for an international enterprise.
• Strong interest in humanitarian and development work.
• Minimum 1-year experience working in organisational monitoring and evaluation.
• Knowledge of IFRC and National Society operating environment.

Skills/Knowledge:

·         Strong background in report-writing and product delivery to tight deadlines. Ability to write, edit and analyse complex reports

·         Sound background of social research methodologies, including a highly developed analytical and communication skills and ability to assimilate and process information for wide-ranging audiences

·         Excellent computer skills. (e.g. Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, Adobe Acrobat). Ability to perform page-layout, incorporating text, photos and other graphic elements for a printed page.

·         Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English

·         Sound understanding of basic project finance (e.g. ability to explain variance between budgeted and actual expenditure).

·         Knowledge and commitment to Red Cross Red Crescent Fundamental Principles, and ability to model those Principles in relationships with colleagues and partners and translate them to development practice

·         Basic understanding of legal framework of humanitarian operations, as well as gender, protection, social or human vulnerability issues

·         Excellent inter-personal skills and cultural sensitivity.

Languages:

Fluency in written and spoken English. Working Knowledge of French

Competencies: ·         Drive for results ·         Orientation to attention to detail. Teamwork ·         Strong time management and organisational skills. ·         Self-motivated, with good judgment and initiative ·         Able to work with and manage others under stress sometimes with limited access to basic facilities. ·         Strong interpersonal skills and ability to motivate colleagues to meet deadlines. ·         Able to prioritize and achieve results through collaboration. ·         Must be flexible and adaptive to change. ·         Strong capacity to handle complex tasks independently and as part of a team. Submission of applications: Applications should be submitted by email to hr.eastafrica@ifrc.org; to be received not later than December 14th 2012. Kindly note that due to large volumes of applications received: 1. Only e-mail applications will be accepted 2. Received applications will be short-listed on an on-gong basis 3. Due to large volumes of applications only short listed candidates will be contacted